You cannot think about the city of Glasgow today without thinking of the huge cinema that sits right in the heart and stretches to the sky. The 'Cineworld' on Renfrew Street is an amazing 12 storeys tall and can seat 4,300 people! Now that is BIG!
The 'Cineworld' building is a wonderful piece of architucture and almost symbolises the regeneration of Glasgow and how it is turning into a more modern and vibrant city. It is far more of an experience to go to the cinema in Glasgow than it ever was back home. From the bright lights to the sweets and other treats, it is almost like a fantasy land..
It is little known that 'Cineworld' as it stands was built on the grounds of record-breaking cinema/theatre 'Green's Playhouse/Apollo.' This theatre could seat 4,368 people - it was the largest cinema in Europe. The Playhouse was demolished in 1987, 60 years after opening, to make way for the UGC cinema that became the 'Cineworld' we know today. In 2003, the UGC cinema was noted as the busiest cinema in Britain.
Before the Second World War, Glasgow had more cinema seats per head than any other city in the world, 175,000 to be exact, which is quite impressive! It is said that at that time Glaswegians would visit the cinema at least 51 times a year!
Saying that, I thouroughly enjoy going to the cinema but more than 50 times a year seems incredible! Not to mention expensive!
Once known as 'Cinema City,' Glasgow now has only about 13 of the original 130 cinemas it once boasted.
It is a shame to see the decline as it would seem only thee smaller localised cinemas have been closed down. I imagine this is due to a decline in revenue from ticket sales as people arenot going to the cinema as much as they were before the war, and with the economic downturn it would be deemed more financially viable to sell the cinemas to other ventures; music venues;flats;shops and bingo halls.
You can find out more about the old cinemas of Glasgow;http://www.scottishcinemas.org.uk/glasgow/index.html
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